Hi All,

For the past 10 years I've been dealing with all types of random symptoms. Most associated with nerve, muscle, & joint pain. Severe fatigue, chronic low vitamin D levels & weakness are the main ones. I have had periods of what my Dr's refer to as gait ataxia, which also affects my speech greatly. These "flare ups" last anywhere from a week to months at a time. Slowly they improve, and I experience periods with no symptoms or minimal symptoms.

Several times I've been asked about MS. The first time I had an episode I had a host of testing including MRI's CAT scans, lumbar puncture, and all of them came back normal. Since then, I've had several episodes. I have spent thousands of dollars and have seen dozens of Dr.'s and no one can tell me what is going on.

I would like to get a definitive diagnosis, this can't be normal for an otherwise healthy 33 year old woman. They symptoms started slowly 10 years ago following a car accident. I have not been the same since then. I've been seeing a new chiropractor and he believes it's possible that I could have MS based on my symptoms. So I'd like to rule that our or in once and for all.

From what I've been reading an MRI is somewhat of a gold standard for a MS diagnosis... but I'm also hearing that many people have "clean" MRI's for long periods of times, before anything shows up.

Should I have another MRI? What other diagnostic testing should I do? I do not have medical insurance and will have to pay out of pocket, so I'd like to start with the most pressing. if that makes any sense.

Thanks for any insight you might be able to offer.